Frowned upon
by HistoryAddict
Summary: Alyssabeth Andrews has been sent by her controlling Mother aboard the Titanic where she will travel under the eye of her Uncle to her Godmother's. But when she is aboard her eye catches the young sixth officer, James Moody.


Chapter 1

I turned my head to the window of the Cleat's polished motor car. My thoughts were else where and being in Kathleen Cleat's narrow minded company didn't do much to bring me out of them. I couldn't wait to board, to finally escape my Mother's friend after a solid month of living with her and her husband. I was grateful to them for allowing me to stay, but it was all forced. My Mother was sending me away to America, to live with my Godmother. Her reasoning was simple, I was now twenty two and without a husband. She wanted to marry me off and marry me well. My Mother hoped that sending me to America with my shallow Godmother would result in my speedy engagement.

The bright light in this situation was that I would not only be travelling on the grandest maiden voyage in history, the Titanic, but I would also me seeing my uncle, Thomas Andrews.

"Alyssabeth." Kathleen said sharply, grabbing me from my thoughts. "Did you hear what I asked?" she asked me, annoyance evident in her voice.

"I'm sorry, Kathleen. My thoughts were elsewhere." I admitted truly.

"By the coming voyage, no doubt. I asked the designer of the gown you are wearing? It complements your hair."

"Thank you." I replied and looked down at my gown. It was beautiful but I didn't think much of small talk to fill the empty silence. My gown was light, cream fabric reaching from my neck to the floor, all embroided with beading and a thin fabric sitting over it and creating half sleeves, vertical white and navy blue stripes all finished with a navy blue sash. The gown was complemented with a navy blue hat that was pinned to my chocolate hair. "The designer is Jeanne Hallée." I told her while I fiddled with my sash.

"It is very beautiful, I remember pouring over her gowns last week." Kathleen told me fondly.

"Yes." I nodded, hoping Kathleen could sense my finality. Instead she looked through window of the car and I did the same copying her actions. We were now driving through Southampton, passing terraced houses and towns people as we approached the docks. The people were poor and poverty stricken, obviously. But they intrigued me, how they relied on one another and lived, without needing wealth for enjoyment. The people that I mixed with were vain, sneering down on the lives of those not in their own class or social group.

"It is sickening how these people live, isn't it?" Kathleen asked, gazing out on the houses with the same expression Mother used.

"Oh, I'm not too sure." I replied distracted, more sickened by the look Kathleen had painted upon her face. Then I returned to gazing out of the window and took in a sharp breath once the car had entered the docks, once Titanic was in view.

There were masses of people in the docks, rows of motor cars just like this one, all three classes in the process of boarding and those that waved farewell to them. Then my gaze shifted to the uniformed men that guided and controlled the chaos.

"Your Uncle has truly outdone himself with Titanic."

"He has." I said slowly once we had pulled to a stop. My door opened and I took the hand of the driver, gracefully stepping out of the car and the sound of excitement meeting my ears.

Now I had a clear view of Titanic, even through the busy masses of people surrounding me. She stretched the length of the dock and reached high up into the afternoon sky. The array of colours shone brightly under the glistening sun, the smooth black of the ship, shining red of the funnels and even the new white of the gates and railings. I had seen the ship in the early stages of construction but this was perfect, majestic and grand.

"She's beautiful." I said more to myself, and she really was. It was only times like this when I looked up to the most luxurious ship ever built that I looked through my uncle's eyes, now I could see what he saw in those early stages.


End file.
